Urine arsenic concentrations in healthy adults as indicators of environmental contamination: Relation with some pathologies

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 216; no. 1-2; pp. 55 - 61
• Main Authors: Ruiz-Navarro, M.L, Navarro-Alarcón, M, Lopez Gª-de la Serrana, H, Pérez-Valero, V, López-Martinez, M.C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier B.V 14-05-1998; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Adult; Arsenic - urine; Biological and medical sciences; Chemical and industrial products toxicology. Toxic occupational diseases; Diabetes Mellitus - urine; Environmental Pollutants - urine; Environmental Pollution; Female; Food Contamination; Humans; Liver Diseases - urine; Location; Male; Medical sciences; Metals and various inorganic compounds; Myocardial Infarction - urine; Pathology influence; Sex; Spain; Spectrophotometry, Atomic; Total arsenic; Toxicology; Urine; Europe; Spain; Urine; Pathology influence; Total arsenic; Sex; Location; Human; Biological fluid; Arsenic; Rate; Biological indicator; Normal; Epidemiology; Coastal zone; Pollution; Mountain; Diet; Geographic distribution; Environment; Age; Quantitative analysis; Atomic absorption spectrometry
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/S0048-9697(98)00136-3

Arsenic concentrations were determined in 126 urine samples by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry. Samples were mineralized with nitric acid in a thermostated mineralization block. This technique was compared with a method that involves mineralization in a microwave digestion bomb. A mean recovery percentage of 100.80±5.57% was obtained. The relative standard deviation ranged from 1.7 to 10.52%. It was found that subject sex and age did not affect urine As levels (P>0.05). The mean urine As levels in patients with hepatic injury (4.24±1.98 μg/l), diabetes (3.44±2.36 μg/l) and myocardial infarction (3.64±1.85 μg/l) were not statistically different (P>0.05) to that found in the control group (healthy subjects) (3.68±2.27 μg/l). This result could be related to the fact that the regulation of As in the human organism is independent of these diseases. Measured As concentrations in the eight basic health zones of the study area were not statistically different (P>0.01). This fact demonstrates the existence of a similarly low environmental As distribution in coastal and mountainous zones.